12 Society

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010, DELHI

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TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

Corruption seen as rising worldwide

Survey shows one out of four people claim to have paid a bribe to service providers in the last one year alone
B Y R UHI T EWARI
ruhi.t@livemint.com

NEW DELHI

lmost six out of 10 people around the world believe corruption has increased over the last three years, while one in four claims to have paid a bribe in the last one year alone, according to Transparency Internationals Global Corruption Barometer for 2010. The barometer, released on International Anti-Corruption Day on Thursday, is based on a survey of over 91,000 people in 86 countries and territories and focuses on petty bribery, perceptions of public institutions and views of whom people trust to combat corruption.Transparency International is a Berlin-based nongovernmental agency and it launched the Global Corruption Barometer in 2003. Perceptions about corruption levels are the most unfavourable in Europe and North America where 73% and 67% of people, respectively, think corruption has increased over the last three years. The survey also shows that certain perceptions about corruption, however, have not changed much with time with political parties continuing to be perceived as being most corrupt, and non-governmental organizations and the military at the bottom of the list. Nearly 80% of the respondents thought political parties which had topped the list even in 2004were either corrupt or extremely corrupt, followed by public officials and civil servants. The military is viewed to be the least corrupt institution. Significantly, public opinion about the judiciary seems to have improved with the number of those viewing it as corrupt or extremely corrupt decreasing by 10 percentage points. This (political parties topping the list of corrupt) does not come as a surprise at all.., said Jagdeep Chhokar, founder-member of the Association of Democratic Reforms, a non-

governmental organization. Political corruption of various levels and orders is not uncommon across the world, he added. And this, when we talk about the so-called leading and mature democracies. Elsewhere, it is even more rampant. The fact is that unless the political establishment of a country is corrupt, no other agent or institution would dare to be corrupt. Political parties are the fountainhead of corruption in a country. With regard to petty bribery, however, police officials topped the list with 29% of those respondents who came in contact with them reporting paying a bribe. The other nine service providers reported as recipients of bribes include the judiciary, customs, registry and permit services as well as medical services. Geographically, sub-Saharan Africans have reported paying the most bribes with more than one in two paying one in the last one year. This compares with 36% of respondents in West Asia and North Africa, 32% in the former Soviet republics, 23% in South America, 19% in the Balkans and Turkey, 11% in the Asia-Pacific region, and 5% in the European Union and North America. Countries which topped the list for reported bribe payments over the year were Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cameroon, India, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda. In these countries, more than 50% of the respondents have claimed paying bribes to at least one of the nine service providers in the last year. Continuing with past trends, the 2010 barometer shows that younger people are more likely to pay bribes than older people. According to the survey, 35% of those who reported paying a bribe in the past year are under 30. Seven out of 10 respondents claimed they would report an incident of corruption. N. Bhaskara Rao, chairman of the New-Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies, however, said he was critical of the survey. Firstly, this is only based on perceptions. Also, it can be misleading because it is based on a very small sample and does not reflect the grassroots reality, Rao said.

Changes in corruption levels in the past three years, by region

Percentage of respondents reporting a corruption increase in the past three years.

Perceived levels of corruption in key institutions, worldwide

Percentage of respondents reporting the sector/institution to be corrupt or extremely corrupt.

Corruption affecting key institutions/sectors, comparison over time, overall results

Percentage of people reporting the sector/institution to be corrupt or extremely corrupt.

European Union North America Sub-Saharan Africa West Asia & North Africa Western Balkans & Turkey Latin America Asia Pacific NIS+* TOTAL
*Newly independent states+

73 67 62 57 57 51 47 45 56

Political parties Public officials/ civil servants Parliament/ legislature Police Business/ private sector Religious bodies Judiciary Media Education system NGOs* Military
(*Non-governmental organizations)

79 62 60 58 51 50 43 40 38 30 30 26 31 33 30 28 43 44 41 39 39 47 52 53 54 59 61 57 59

71

80

2004 2010

Percentage of people who report paying a bribe in the previous 12 months, by service

Percentage of users who report paying a bribe to at least one of nine service providers in the past year 36% 32% 23%

56%

Police

19% 5%

29
Registry & permit services

11%

5%
European Union+
(in %)

20 Asia Pacific
Judiciary

Latin America
(in %)

14
Customs

Newly West Asia & North Africa independent states+

(in %) (in %)

North America
(in %)

SubSaharan Africa
(in %)

Western Balkans + Turkey

(in %)

(in %)

10
Utilities

Cambodia 84 Afghanistan 61 India 54

8
Medical services

8
Education system

6
Land services

6
Tax authorities

49 44 26 23 Solomon (Is) 20 Indonesia 18 Vanuatu 16 Philippines 16 Fiji 12 Singapore 9 Malaysia 9 Japan 9 China 9 Taiwan 7 Hong Kong 5 New Zealand 4 S. Korea 2 Australia 2
Pakistan Vietnam PNG Thailand
PNG: Papua New Guinea

34 28 24 18 Luxembourg 16 Latvia 15 Poland 15 Czech Republic 14 Italy 13 Austria 9 Bulgaria 8 France 7 Spain 5 Ireland 4 Slovenia 4 Iceland 3 Portugal 3 Finland 2 Germany 2 Netherlands 2 Switzerland 2 Norway 1 UK 1 Denmark 0
Lithuania Romania Hungary Greece

El Salvador 31 31 Mexico 30 Bolivia Colombia Peru Chile Venezuela Argentina Brazil

Iraq Palestine Lebanon Israel

24 22 21 20 12 4

56 51 34 4

Mongolia Azerbaijan Moldova Ukraine Belarus Russia Armenia Georgia

48 47 37 34 27 26 22 3

US Canada

5 4

89 Liberia 86 Uganda Sierra Leone 71

Nigeria Senegal Cameroon Kenya Zambia Ghana

33 Turkey 23 B&H FYR Macedonia 21

Serbia Kosovo Croatia
B&H: Bosnia & Herzegovina

63 56 54 45 42 37

17 16 5

Peoples trust: whom do people trust the most to fight corruption in their country?
Percentage of respondents.

25

22 11 9 8

25

Media

Government leaders

The Global Corruption Barometer 2010 interviewed more than 91,500 people in 86 countries.

Business/ NGOs private International sector organizations

Nobody

Source: Transparency International